Miasma (瘴気, shōki) is a poisonous gas that infests the Otherworld, presumably being created by the Oni living there. Its role in the Toukiden games has been of a time limit, but it becomes more noticeable in Toukiden 2.
Description[]
An aura of vile, polluted air given off by all Oni, especially their carcasses or severed limbs. The Otherworld is so filled with noxious miasma that only Slayers, who possess both the physical and spiritual strength to overcome it, can survive for more than a few minutes. When miasma builds up in a certain area of land, time and space begin to be warped there.
How miasma works[]
Toukiden: The Age of Demons/Kiwami[]
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Miasma is mentioned a few times during the story, but is never seen or felt directly. Missions with short time limits often mean their location has high miasma density (for example, the Age of Yore's zone 1).
Toukiden 2[]
In this game, miasma is represented by the miasma gauge around the minimap, which slowly builds up as time passes in the Otherworld. The higher it is, the slower your Focus gauge refills and the faster it depletes, and if the miasma gauge is completely filled, you will die. Its color varies from white (cannot build up) to blue (slowly builds up) to purple (builds up at a medium pace) to red (builds up quickly). Miasma can be purified by three ways: returning to the village, praying at a blue Prayer Stone or purifying the body or body parts of an Oni.
The miasma gauge only becomes white if you are in a clean area without purifying yourself. It also only becomes red in miasma pools, highly toxic zones where Shadow Souls and Umbrapods are guaranteed to appear and your Focus is completely depleted. The only way to explore these zones is by purifying all Barrier Stones in an Age and close its miasma hole - the latter happening throughout the story. This also reduces the overall concentration of miasma in that Age, allowing you to explore for longer, and it may also reduce some missions' time limits.